TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Uranium miner Uranium One is investigating the possibility of becoming a partner in another new sulphuric acid plant in Kazakhstan, CEO Jean Nortier told Mining Weekly Online on Thursday.

Although the company is not concerned with the actual availability of sulphuric acid in the country, it has warned that the logistical supply lines are “stretched”, particularly as a number of projects and expansions ramp up.

Kazakhstan is expected to become the top uranium producer this year, overtaking Canada.

Nortier emphasised that Uranium One continues to receive the acid supplies it needs each week for its in-situ leach operations, but said there is a concern that road conditions or low availability of trucks or storage facilities could result in a temporary interruption.

The company is working with other producers in Kazakhstan to address the issue, including by establishing new storage facilities where the acid gets offloaded from the rail trucks before it is loaded onto road trucks, and improving the quality of the roads over which the acid is shipped, he said.

“And we are investigating the possibility of being partners in the construction of an additional sulphuric acid plant,” he said in an interview.

Uranium One already has a 19% interest in a new 500 000-t/y acid plant that is under construction near its Kharasan operation.

“For this additional one, we are still talking to potential partners, so there's nothing on the table that I can actually give concrete details on,” Nortier said.

He said he expects most of the pressure on the acid logistics lines to have been released by the end of this year.

Uranium One produces uranium from mines in Kazakhstan, and owns 51% of the Honeymoon project, in Australia, as well as some processing facilities and deposits in the US.

ACQUISITIONS IN AFRICA, EUROPE

Uranium One expects its $250-million convertible debenture bought-deal offering, announced in February, to close on Friday, Nortier said.

The proceeds from the financing, which will boost the company's cash reserves to more than $450-million, will be used to pursue acquisitions, as it seeks to grow uranium output and reserves.

Nortier has already indicated he is interested in acquiring assets in Africa, and said on Thursday that Uranium One will also consider potential targets in Europe.

The company has its eye on a couple of things, “but there is nothing specific at the moment, we've only just started looking,” he said in an interview.

“There's certain places that we probably wouldn't focus at the moment though, like the Democratic Republic of Congo, but we are willing to consider anything that makes sense for our shareholders.”

Uranium One announced two acquisitions last year – it bought a 50% joint-venture interest in the Karatau uranium mine, from Russia's Atomredmetzoloto, and agreed to acquire two ISR processing facilities and associated uranium resources in Wyoming.

Uranium One produced 3,9-million pounds of uranium in 2009 and this year expects output to rise to 6,8-million pounds, ramping up to eight-million pounds in 2011, as it starts its first production in the US.

The firm is still targeting output from the Christensen Ranch in Wyoming  next year, which will be supplemented by the start-up of the Moore Ranch operation, in 2012.

On Wednesday, Uranium One posted a net loss of $36,5-million for the full year of 2009, compared with a $22,3-million profit a year earlier.